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Chicken Antics
Our poor little Betty White is terrified of the older hens, and probably should be. Ruby and Tweedledum charge her whenever they enter a space and spot her. They usually just strike once and move on. There’s not been much feather loss, and there has been no blood, but Betty will see one of the big birds coming and hide her head in a corner. When the big ladies leave the run to lay eggs or go into their backyard,…
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The Chickens Get Their Own Backyard
The chickens are angry at me this week because they’ve been booted from the yard. I finally got tired of them kicking all the dirt and mulch out of my flower beds, wandering into the neighbors’ yards and getting closer and closer to the street where neighbors regularly walk dogs. Without a fenced back yard, free range was just too free, and with spring around the corner, I didn’t want to have to deal with them uprooting the wildflowers I’m…
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Flock Swaps
I was warned that this chicken thing can get really addictive. The eggs are great. Planning and building the coop was fun. Problem solving is challenging. What is addictive is walking across the yard and realizing two chickens are following at my heels, I stop, they stop and scratch around in the dirt. I walk, they walk. I stop and turn around, they scratch at the dirt. I have a fan club now thanks to a treat called Crackleberry Nugget…
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Nursing Our Silkie Back to Health
Miss Betty White has been a house guest for a little over a week now. She’s a Silkie pullet, and we think she is about 10 – 12 weeks old. She and her sister, Vader, fell ill before New Year’s Eve. Vader didn’t survive, but Betty is on the mend. When we first brought her in, she was lying on her belly in the run and was limp. There was no peeping, no walking, and her head was caught in…
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Treehouse Chicken Coop
For the past several mornings, I’ve woken up with what I refer to as “fire fingers”. My fingers tingle, and the numbness goes up to my shoulder. I’m covered in scrapes, and my hands feel like sandpaper. My husband now has the neighbors thinking he’s a professional carpenter. We haven’t been to the gym in months — we haven’t done anything social. We haven’t signed up for spring soccer. We skipped THE BIG chess tournament. We have worked our patooties…
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